Draw 17 - Hate Buster
((A/N sorry this took so long, I had to do some major rewrites halfway through. My original plan for Schwarz was too similar to Noir. I hope you like this new version. I'd also like to thank my boyfriend for giving me the idea for Schwarz's new personality!))
Sabrina was scared. More than scared, terrified. She was the newest member of the team, and had only been in three Shadow Duels in her entire life (two of which had happened in the past month).
No one really talked about how difficult it could be to adjust to a brand new world like this. Kim had Aware parents and Caspian was half mermaid, meaning they had been immersed in the world of Shadows since birth. But Sabrina and Tyler had only been inducted into this world a few years ago. They still had so much to learn.
0-0-0
Two years ago
"Okay, so, how much do you already know?" Caspian asked, dipping a french fry into his milkshake. He was sitting across from Sabrina in the furthest corner of the Pandora's Box, and had been generous enough to pay for her meal. Not that she felt like eating.
"About what? Monsters? Magic?" Sabrina asked, poking at her chicken. "I don't know anything, to be honest. I've seen these things my whole life, but I thought I was just crazy. Like I had psychosis or something." She bit her lip nervously, unable to look Caspian in the eyes. She'd just met this boy, and now she was pouring her heart out to him in a greasy burger joint.
"Hey, don't start crying on me. I'm not good with other people's emotions." Caspian snapped his fingers in front of the girl's face, then pushed her soda into her hand. "Eat something, it'll make you feel better. He sighed and leaned back, running his fingers through his ruby red hair.
"Let me break this down for you. They're not called monsters, they're Shadowkind. They come from another world that's connected to this one for reasons no one knows, and some magical thingy keeps dropping them off here in random places. And thanks to something called the veil, only a handful of humans can see them."
"Awares are people like you, the lucky humans who can see magic for what it really is. Sensitives are a little more common, they get bad vibes from supernatural stuff, but they don't know any more than that. And Mundanes are everyone else. They can't see anything magical, the veil messes with their brains and makes them see normal, boring stuff. Ogres become muscular humans, owlbears become regular bears, a magic wand becomes a gun. That sort of thing."
"Are you an Aware or a Shadow?" Sabrina asked, finally taking a bite of her chicken. It was room temperature now, but she was hungry. Almost getting killed by a werewolf really worked up an appetite, apparently.
"Neither, I'm a Shadowtouched." Caspian waved his hand. "That's what you get when a Shadow and a human have kids. Tieflings are part fiend, aasimar are part angel, genasi are part genie, and then there's fishbloods, like me. My mom's a mermaid, so I can breathe underwater and stuff."
"What about vampires? Are they real?" Sabrina's mind was buzzing with questions. "Can I do magic now that I'm Aware or whatever? Am I gonna get a cool sword like yours? Why do you have a sword anyways? Do you know any hot elf boys?"
"Yes, no, maybe, I'll explain later, and yes. In that order." Caspian replied, finishing his fries. "Glad to see you're taking this whole 'everything you know about the world is wrong' thing so well."
"I've seen movies and tv before, I was kind of hoping magic was real already." Sabrina shrugged. "So tell me, why did you save me? Not that I'm not grateful or anything. I just... are you some kind of magic cop?"
"We're better than cops." Caspian insisted. "The Shadowchasers are a global organization that protects humans from Shadows, and Shadows from humans and sometimes other Shadows. We have a team in every major city... except Pittsburgh." He pulled his Duel Disk out and opened the chamber that contained his Extra Deck, pulling out a single card.
"This is Jalal, my boss. He's this cool, immortal, sexy half dragon who founded the Shadowchasers like a thousand years ago when he became immortal after beating a sphinx in a riddle contest. Long story." The card depicted a handsome man with blonde hair and slightly pointed ears, wearing a bright red suit of armor. "He wants humans and Shadows to live together peacefully, and it's the Shadowchasers' job to make sure things stay peaceful. Sure, most of us are humans, which I think is a problem, but whatever."
"So..." Sabrina took a long sip of her drink. "Why does your boss have a trading card?"
"Fair Fight Clause." Caspian explained. "When a Shadowchaser catches a criminal, with a few exceptions, we have to beat them in a fair fight before we can actually arrest them. So the boss came up with the idea of using Duel Monsters. You can't solve every problem with a sword."
Sabrina nodded, contemplating. "How do I become a Shadowchaser?"
Caspian smiled. "Let me introduce you to my team!"
0-0-0
Sabrina looked around for obvious signs of cult activity. Eerie green or purple light, screaming, people in hooded cloaks, giant portals in the sky; that sort of thing. It wasn't long before she found something: A Waffle House with an open door and a red carpet rolled out.
"If I didn't have a sword and pepper spray on hand, I'd say this was the dumbest thing I'd ever done in my life." Sabrina sighed as she parked her Duel Runner outside and walked right in.
There was a man waiting for her in the Waffle House, sitting on a makeshift throne made of scattered tables and chairs. He was munching on a waffle as if it was an apple, just holding it in his hand. "Oh, company!" He quickly tossed the waffle to the side and wiped his face before jumping to his feet. "Hello, Miss Shadowchaser, my name is Schwarz. Good to meet you."
"You're direct." Sabrina approached the strange man. He was clearly pushing 50, but moved and talked like a man half that age. He was tall, well built, and dressed in dapper clothing; a full suit and tie, complete with top hat. His face was covered in scars, including a long one running across the bridge of his nose. He looked... out of place. "I'm Sabrina. Guess it can't hurt to tell you my name since only one of us is leaving here alive."
"Heh, Sabrina, like the witch." Schwarz chuckled. "Yeah, this is gonna be a Shadow Game. If you lose, your soul goes to my boss. If I lose, mine does. Got it?"
"Got it." Sabrina nodded, a little unnerved by how casual he was being. She activated her Duel Disk, and Schwarz raised his left arm, a pitch black Disk appearing on it. "Duel!"
(Sabrina LP 8000) - (Schwarz LP 8000)
"I'll start with Allure of Darkness. I draw two cards, then banish one Dark monster from my hand." Schwarz did just that, placing a card in the breast pocket of his tuxedo. "I summon Infernity Necromancer in attack mode." A bony fiend with long, pointy ears and longer, somehow pointier hair appeared, staring Sabrina dead in the eyes. (ATK 0)
"When Infernity Necromancer is summoned, it changes to defense mode." Schwarz explained, as the creature crouched and shielded itself with its claws (DEF 2000) "Next I activate Wave Motion Inferno! But I won't tell you what it does just yet. So I'll set a card and end my turn."
"Infernities..." Sabrina stared at the monster her opponent played, trying to think of where she'd seen it before. Obviously she had encountered Infernity monsters at some point, they were common enough cards, but she had a feeling someone famous used them once.
She stared at her cards for a moment, trying to refocus. "I summon Harpie Spy!" A black feathered Harpie with white hair swooped down onto the field, brandishing her claws. (ATK 1600) "And when I do that, I get to summon another Harpie from my deck, so she doesn't get lonely!"
There was a bird call, and a second Harpie appeared, this one blonde with pink feathers and a bob cut (ATK 1600) "I choose my Harpie Huntress! And because that was a special summon, her effect activates! So I get to add Hysteric Sign to my hand." A card shot out of Sabrina's deck, and she quickly caught it.
"Next I play Hysteric Sign! Which lets me search out Elegant Egotist." Sabrina held up the spell, smiling. "And I'm just getting started, hon!" She quoted her idol, Mai Kujaku, hoping that it could give her some of the famous duelist's confidence.
Schwarz chuckled. "Oh so you're a fangirl. Well, I suppose we all need our own ways to stand out amongst the crowd. I pride myself on being the snazziest dresser among the Ebon Sun, but my coworkers don't seem to appreciate my fashion sense." He gestured to his clothing, grinning stupidly.
"I'm not a fangirl!" Sabrina objected. Schwarz just smirked. So she decided to ignore him and continue the duel. "I activate Elegant Egotist, and special summon Harpie Harpist from my deck!" There was a shimmer of multicolored lights, and a redheaded Harpie with green wings appeared, strumming a large harp (ATK 1700)
"That's three monsters, versus your one... I bet you think I'm gonna attack you and fall right into whatever trap you set! Well I'm not!" Sabrina pointed at Schwarz's set card dramatically. "I have a way around that. I tune Harpie Harpist with Harpie Huntress! Beautiful birds of prey, combine your power! Synchro Summon! Cyber Slash Harpie Lady!"
Harpist strummed her instrument, then vanished into four glowing rings, which surrounded Huntress, before collapsing into a pillar of light. A new monster flew out, resembling the original Harpie Lady, but with purple feathers and golden armor. (ATK 2600)
"Oh, so Harpies have Synchros now? I thought they were an Xyz archetype." Schwarz raised an eyebrow. "Also since when was Harpie Harpist a Tuner?"
"Yeah, she's new." Sabrina shrugged. "And I can use any Harpie monster as a Tuner to summon her. The important thing is, she's strong enough to get past your Necromancer! Attack him with your Razor Nail!" The Winged Beast cawed happily and flew forward, cleaving Infernity Necromancer in half with her claws. The two pieces stayed there, laying on the ground, leaking black blood, for just a second before shattering into pixels.
"This is a shadow game alright..." Sabrina gulped. "Which means I can't hold back! Attack him directly!"
"No you don't! I activate my trap card, Rope of Life!" Schwarz interrupted the attack. Necromancer appeared again, hissing lowly. "I discard my entire hand in order to bring back a monster that was just destroyed. It also gains 800 ATK, but seeing as it's in defense mode, that doesn't really matter."
"Um... okay." Sabrina looked at her remaining cards. "I activate Alluring Mirror Split!" A Continuous Spell appeared in front of her, the artwork depicting multiple Harpie monsters lining up as if they were appearing in each other's reflections. "Now I can summon a Harpie from my deck whenever one on the field is destroyed by battle. That ends my turn, which activates Harpie Harpist's effect. I can add a level 4 Winged Beast from my deck to my hand, as long as it has 1500 or less ATK." A card shot out of her deck, and she quickly caught it.
(Sabrina LP 8000) - (Schwarz LP 8000)
"My turn, then." Schwarz drew a card and immediately played it. "I summon Infernity Beetle." A large black beetle with massive horns appeared (ATK 1200). It looked weirdly out of place next to Infernity Necromancer.
"Now that I have no cards in my hand, my Infernities' effects are unlocked!" The weird man explained. "First, Wave Motion Inferno grants all Infernity monsters 400 additional ATK & DEF. Next, I tribute Infernity Beetle to summon two copies of itself from my deck." The Insect was surrounded by a shadowy aura, which then split into two identical copies. (ATK 1600) x2
"Next, Necromancer's effect can summon one Infernity from my graveyard every turn. I choose Infernity Guardian." The next monster appeared to be a flaming skull surrounded by a shield-like body. (ATK 1600) "And now for the big finish! I tune Infernity Beetle with Infernity Guardian in order to Synchro Summon Infernity Doom Archfiend!"
The Insect and Fiend were suddenly swallowed up by their own shadows, which merged together into a swirling pitch black portal. Out of the portal rose a tall, thin Fiend with bright red hair, wearing a black and red robe that sort of hung off its narrow body (ATK 2600)
"Doom Archfiend has three effects, and I'll use the first one now. Because I have no cards in my hand, I can destroy one of yours. Eenie, meenie, minie... that one." Schwarz pointed at Alluring Mirror Split, and Doom Archfiend waved its hand, causing a glowing red sigil to appear on the card. It quickly burst into flames, and Sabrina could feel the warmth of the fire as she watched it burn.
"That's... disturbing."
"Oh, trust me, I've seen much worse." Schwarz laughed. "This is nothing compared to real war. Bullets flying everywhere, men in trenches fearing for their lives, knowing that one wrong move means both death and failure. It's exhilarating~"
Sabrina took a step back out of instinct, only to back into the magical wall keeping her trapped in the duel. "Well, because you did that, I can use Alluring Mirror Split's other ability! I get to bring back a Harpie monster from the graveyard, and I choose my Huntress!" The pink feathered Harpie reappeared, covering Sabrina with her wings defensively. (DEF 1200) "And her effect lets me add Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation to my hand!"
"You won't have enough Harpies to use it next turn." Schwarz wagged his finger sassily. "I banish Skill Successor from my graveyard to give Doom Archfiend an additional 800 ATK for this turn only." The Fiend's score rose to 3400, and it waved its hands again, the red sigil reappearing on Cyber Slash Harpie Lady. "You might want to look away, what happens next isn't for the feint of heart~"
Before she could ask why, Sabrina got her answer. The sigil pulsed, and glowing red veins began spreading across the Harpie's body. She struggled and tried to fly away, but they reached her wings before covering her completely. Where she had once stood was now a gigantic, red cocoon... which then exploded, knocking Sabrina over and into the arms of Harpie Spy, who cawed nervously.
"I should also mention, when Infernity Doom Archfiend battles while I have no cards in my hand, the damage is doubled." Schwarz looked at Sabrina's monsters, grinning like a kid in a candy store. "Infernity Beetle, attack Harpie Spy!" The Insect charged forward towards the Winged Beast, and Sabrina ducked before they collided. Both simply shattered into pixels.
"This is almost as fun as a real battlefield!"
Sabrina took a deep breath and steadied herself. "I activate Harpie's Grand Aviary!" The Waffle House they were dueling in transformed into a lush garden filled with large stones and singing birds. "Now all my Wind monsters get 300 points to both scores! Let me demonstrate. I summon Harpie Channeler!" The redheaded Harpie flew down onto the field, waving her staff aggressively (ATK 1700).
"And now I can use her effect. I discard one Harpie card to summon any Harpie monster I want from my deck, except another Channeler. And I choose this one!" A summoning portal opened in the sky, and a massive red dragon flew out. It had a serpentine neck, bright green eyes, a black face, and long feathered ears (DEF 2800)
"Harpie's Pet Dragon, I assume?" Schwarz stared the dragon in the face, unphased.
"Actually, this one's called Harpie's Pet Dragon - Fearsome Fire Blast. She works a little different than her sister." Sabrina corrected. "But she won't be doing anything this turn. Because I have a high level Harpie on the field, I can special summon Harpie Oracle from my hand!" There was a shower of black feathers, and a new Harpie joined the field. This one had blue hair tied into a long ponytail, and carried a crystal ball the size of her head (DEF 1700)
"When she's summoned, I get to take back a Spell or Trap from my graveyard, but it has to be one of a specific few." Elegant Egotist slid out of Sabrina's Duel Disk, and she added it to her hand. "Now that I've got three Harpies on the field, I can finally play this! Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation!"
The three Harpie monsters flew into the air, a ring of runic symbols appearing behind them. They became covered in brilliant blue flames, which briefly took the shape of a bird, before crashing down onto Schwarz's field. "I have to skip my battle phase this turn, or special summon any other monsters, but both of yours are destroyed, and you take damage equal to Doom Archfiend's attack points, since it was the strongest one you have."
The flames lapped at Schwarz's face, but his Ebon Sun necklace glowed and protected him from most of the damage. "Well played, 'Brina!" He clapped enthusiastically.
"Thanks." Sabrina decided to take the compliment. "I'm ending my turn, but I have to ask... why are you doing this? How did you even end up in this situation?"
(Sabrina LP 6400) - (Schwarz LP 5800)
Schwarz drew a card and didn't look at it. "You really want to know? Or are you trying to do that whole get the villain to monologue while you come up with a counter strategy thing?"
"Can't a girl multitask?" Sabrina joked, though she honestly wasn't sure which one was correct. Schwarz shrugged and sighed a little.
"My name is, or should I say was, Joseph Hanson, and I was a general in the US military." He said, in a more serious tone than he'd used previously. "I started out as a cop, actually, but got drafted and decided to make it my full time job. I rose through the ranks pretty quickly, too. Guess you could say I was a prodigy when it came to war."
"And then all your soldiers died and you became so depressed you turned to black magic to make the world better in a fucked up and evil kind of way?" Sabrina raised an eyebrow, jumping to conclusions.
"Not even close!" Schwarz laughed. "I loved my job, loved having power over people, loved seeing conflict. Hell, I thrived off of it! The higher ups either didn't notice or didn't care, there's not a lot of time to make moral judgments when you're on a battlefield."
"But I did screw up eventually. You can only psychologically torment your own men for so long before it gets boring. I started misfiring on purpose, shooting soldiers on both sides in the foot, or the arm, anywhere that wouldn't immediately kill them. It was like pulling the wings off a fly. And that finally got someone's attention."
"So you're a sadist." Sabrina realized what he was getting at.
"Sadist is such a harsh word." Schwarz waved his hand. "Accurate, maybe, but harsh. I prefer to think of myself as a pain aficionado. But my boss didn't seem to think so, and I got dragged into court for war crimes. Or, at least, I would have been. I managed to give them the slip and make my way to River City, where I found... her."
"Mama Killa approached me personally. She started showing up in my dreams, like some kind of Incan Freddy Krueger. She told me about her little group, said I had a lot of potential, and asked me to join. So I did."
"But how does eternal night benefit you? It doesn't make any sense!"
"I want to see what happens." Schwarz explained excitedly. "I want to see the conflict that arises from humans adjusting to their world suddenly becoming inhospitable to them, when the veil comes crashing down and suddenly people have to deal with the fact that their neighbors and friends and elves, orcs and dwarves. The sheer and utter chaos!"
Sabrina was at a loss for words. "You're insane!"
"Insane implies I don't know what I'm doing." Schwarz objected. "I know exactly what I'm doing. For starters, I'm winning this duel! I activate the effect of Galaxy Cyclone from my graveyard, banishing it to destroy your field spell!" A whirlwind ripped across the battlefield, blowing away the beautiful valley and returning them to the restaurant they'd been dueling in. "Next, I set one card and end my turn."
Sabrina drew Windrose the Elemental Lord. A powerful card that always seemed to hit the bottom of her deck when she needed it, and end up in her hand when it wasn't useful. Oh well, better a dead draw now then when it would kill her. "I switch all my monsters to attack position, and enter the battle phase right away! My Pet Dragon attacks you directly!"
Harpie's Pet Dragon opened its fanged mouth and began building up a ball of fire, but Scwharz's face down card suddenly shot up. "I chain Escape From The Dark Dimension! I summon Infernity General to the field!"
A portal opened up above the two duelists, and a very tall, heavily armored monster stepped out. The armor was pitch black, aside from a bright red cape, and it wielded a crescent shaped sword the same size as its body (ATK 2700)
Sabrina cursed. "I end my turn..."
(Sabrina LP 6400) - (Schwarz LP 5800)
"My turn." Schwarz's Ebon Sun necklace began to glow, filling the abandoned Waffle House with eerie purple light. "I summon Supay!" Sabrina wasn't sure how to describe the monster, when she was later asked. It was either some kind of ritual mask shaped like a demonic face, or the severed heard of an actual demon. Either way, it had huge eyes that took up most of its face, curved horns, and tusks poking out from under its lips. (ATK 300)
Something about this card felt different. It radiated dark energy, as if it were a real monster and not just a hologram. "What does it do?" Sabrina asked, tentatively.
"Supay is a Dark Tuner monster." Schwarz explained, as Supay's eyes began to emit the same purple light as his necklace. "When it's summoned, it targets one other monster on my field and multiplies its level by negative one." Infernity General became surrounded by the purple light.
"That would make its level... negative seven?" Sabrina looked back and forth between both cards, trying to figure out where she'd seen this before. "Dark Tuner... Infernities... wait, I heard about this! Neo Domino City, like five years ago-"
"That's right! The Ebon Sun and the Dark Signers draw their power from the same ancient evils, meaning I have access to Dark Synchro Monsters!" Schwarz cackled, as Supay transformed into a pulsating black star (if such a thing even existed). It floated into Infernity General's chest, causing the Fiend to explode into eight identical black stars, which circled each other.
"When the shadows are devoured by even darker shadows, the curtain pulls back and reveals a world without light!" The stars collapsed into each other, creating a cloud of pure darkness. And then the eyes opened. Dozens of glowing, inhuman eyes peered out at Sabrina from the darkness, and she quickly realized they were attached to something. That something was shaped like a dragon, but only in the vaguest sense. It had clammy grey skin and every inch of its body was covered in those horrible eyes. (ATK 3000)
"Meet my Hundred Eyes Dragon!" Schwarz looked like a kid in a candy store, his eyes shifting from one Harpie monster to the next. "And not only is it big and scary, it has a special ability to match! It can use the effects of every Dark Attribute monster in my graveyard! Like Infernity Doom Archfiend." The largest eye on the Dark Synchro, the one in the center of its chest, blinked, and an image of Doom Archfiend appeared in it.
A familiar red sigil suddenly appeared on Harpie's Pet Dragon, before growing to consume the entire monster and exploding. "It also gets my Archfiend's ability to inflict double battle damage! Attack Harpie Oracle with Infinity Sight Stream!" The monstrous Dragon fired beams of dark energy from every one of its eyes, completely obliterating the blue feathered Harpie. Sabrina screamed, her life points being sliced in half.
"Ah, now that's what I've been waiting for!" Schwarz sighed happily. "The melodious sound of suffering! Such a shame I have to end my turn, I want more!"
Sabrina spat at his feet, trying to remain brave. "Fuck you!" She drew a card, looking over her hand and wondering what to do. "I have exactly five Wind Attribute monsters in my graveyard right now, so I can summon Windrose the Elemental Lord!" A powerful whirlwind whipped up around the two duelists, and grew in intensity until the roof of the Waffle House was ripped off. An enormous bird made of green and purple flower petals descended into the run down restaurant, looking majestic and terrifying at the same time (ATK 2800)
"When Windrose is summoned, all your Spell and Trap cards are destroyed!" The Winged Beast beat its flowery wings, shattering Escape From The Dark Dimension and Wave Motion Inferno. Sabrina tapped a little icon on her Duel Disk, pulling up her Extra Deck. "Next... I overlay my Harpie Channeler and Harpie Huntress, in order to Xyz Summon Castel the Skyblaster Musketeer!"
The two Harpies vanished into the Overlay Network, likely glad to get away from the Shadow Game, and were replaced by an anthropomorphic parrot dressed in musketeer clothing. (ATK 2000) "I activate Castel's effect! If I detach both his overlay units, your monster goes back to the deck! So say goodbye!" Castel loaded his rifle and fired, but nothing happened.
Schwarz cackled maniacally. "Oh, I love the look of false hope on your face! Sorry, but a monster summoned using Supay can't be targeted by card effects." Hundred Eyes Dragon tilted its head as if it was flexing, and made a low, grumbling noise that almost sounded like laughter.
Sabrina's whole body shook with fear, but she pushed through. "I play Supremacy Berry, since my life points are lower than yours, I get 2000 more of them." A white dove flew overhead, sprinkling golden dust onto Sabrina. She took a deep breath and let it out, confident that she could survive a few more turns. "Then I set this and end my turn."
Schwarz drew a card and cackled. "I activate Infernity Void Calling! Because I have no cards in my hand, this lets me send two Infernity monsters from my deck to the graveyard! I choose Infernity Beast and Infernity Destroyer! Which means my Dragon gains two additional effects!"
"But first, I'll use Infernity Doom Archfiend's effect again, to destroy your Elemental Lord." Windrose exploded into a shower of petals, which caused Sabrian's heart to jump. "And I happen to know that means you don't get a battle phase next turn!"
Sabrina's eyes darted to her facedown card. She was sure she could make a comeback, as long as it stayed on the field for one more turn. "Don't you even think about playing whatever that is! Infernity Beast's effect prevents you from activating spells or traps when Hundred Eye Dragon attacks! Go, Infinity Sight Stream!"
Castel the Skyblaster Musketeer raised his weapon bravely, before he was completely obliterated by the Dark Synchro's attack, leaving nothing behind but the scent of burnt poultry. "And when Infernity Destroyer wins a battle, you take 1600 points of extra damage!"
An additional beam fired from the Center of Hundred Eye Dragon's chest, this time hitting Sabrina dead on. She gritted her teeth and tried to brace herself, but ended up being knocked back into the door of the Waffle House. "I... won't... scream." She groaned, dragging herself back to where she had stood before. "I won't give you the satisfaction."
"Aww, that's cute, you still think you can win." Schwarz cooed, doing a condescending little finger wag. Sabrina checked herself for broken bones, and was confident she didn't find any, then turned to Schwarz, a look of confidence on her face. "You've got one more turn, girlie. Make it count."
Sabrina drew, looking at the three cards in her hand. "I discard one card to activate Hysteric Party! I get to summon as many Harpies from my graveyard as possible!" As the set Trap lifted up, fog began to cover the field, loud music played, and bright lights in every color of the rainbow shined, as if the duel field had become a performance stage. "So welcome back Cyber Slash Harpie Lady, Harpie Oracle, Harpie Huntress, Harpie Harpist and Harpie Channeler!"
The five Winged Beasts stretched their wings and cawed loudly, dancing in celebration of their return. "And that's not all! Oracle and Huntress' effects both activate, so I can add Harpie Lady Vulture Formation and Harpie Lady Garuda Formation from my deck to my hand!" Two cards shot out of Sabrina's deck, and she quickly caught them. "Now, because I can't attack, I'll set two cards and end my turn."
Schwarz rolled his eyes at Sabrina's display, and drew his card. "I suppose I was going to draw a monster sooner or later... Now the real question is, which card of yours do I destroy?" He eyed Hysteric Party, then Cyber Slash Harpie Lady, then Harpie Oracle.
"Before you do that, I chain both my face downs! Waboku and Harpie Lady Vulture Formation!" Sabrina's field was covered in a pale blue barrier, and orchestral music began to play and mix with the noise coming from Hysteric Party, making the whole thing sound like an EDM remix of a church song. More alarmingly, an enormous bird made of scarlet flames appeared over her, flapping its fiery wings.
Schwarz's eyes practically jumped out of his head, and he took a step back. "Waboku protects my monsters from being destroyed by battle, and protects me from taking battle damage. And Vulture Formation deals you 600 points of damage for every Harpie I control!" The vulture folded its wings in, becoming a giant fireball, and launched itself at Schwarz.
When the flames disappeared, the dapper cultist was still standing there, his clothes burnt down to rags, and his skin covered in ash, but he was alive. His Ebon Sun necklace glowed brightly, clearly keeping him alive. He panted, taking a moment to remove what was left of his top hat and stomping out the cinders. "Well, congratulations, Sabrina! You've made me lose my cool! Are you happy?"
Sabrina looked at her own wounds, then her opponent's. "Yes."
"Good, I hate to leave a woman disappointed." Schwarz patted himself down and resumed the duel. "I set this monster so my Dragon can use its effects again. I would destroy Hysteric Party, but Doom Archfiend's effect would also stop it from destroying your Harpies... So I think I'll just destroy your Synchro." Hundred Eyes Dragon fired its laser again, and Cyber Slash Harpie Lady bravely took the blast, spreading out her wings to shield the other Harpies.
(Sabrina LP 1400) - (Schwarz LP 2800)
"My turn again." Sabrina had drawn Phalanx Pike. Normally a very welcome card, but not very useful right now. "I play Elegant Egotist, and summon Harpie Lady Sisters from my deck!" Three Harpies, identical except for their hairstyles and colors, joined the duel, cawing loudly (ATK 1950)
"Why would you use that outdated thing?" Schwarz gawked. "She's completely useless!" Harpie Lady Sisters cawed sadly and held each other, as if they were hurt by his remark.
"No she isn't!" Sabrina stamped her foot, before cringing in pain. "I actually have a lot of cards in my deck that only work with a high level Harpie, like the one I searched for last turn! Harpie Lady Garuda Formation!" The familiar magic circle drew itself in the air, and pure white flames enveloped Harpie Lady Sisters, though they clearly weren't burning them.
"This spell works like Battle Fusion for Harpies. I target one of my Harpies, and when she battles this turn, she gains ATK equal to your monster's ATK!" Harpie Lady Sister's ATK rose dramatically to 4950, and they smiled cruelly at Schwarz, ready to pay him back for the pain he'd inflicted on their mistress. "Attack Hundred Eye Dragon! Triangle Ecstasy Spark!" The three Harpies gathered all the flames into their hands, before launching it at the Dark Synchro, which was completely consumed.
Schwarz gritted his teeth, and put his hand out in front of his Ebon Sun necklace, which was glowing even brighter. "Hundred Eye Dragon's final effect activates, letting me add one card from my deck to my hand!"
"Well you won't get to use it! Harpie Oracle, attack directly!" The blue haired Harpie flew forward, ready to brain Schwarz with her crystal ball, but was stopped dead in her tracks by an odd looking pendulum. "Battle Fader, really?!"
Schwarz's shirt was completely burned off at this point, leaving him in just a pair of singed shorts. "Yeah, it's a cheap move, but I'm afraid I can't afford to let you win!" He didn't bother drawing, he simply raised his hand and a card appeared in it. "I activate Ebon Key, which ends the duel in a draw! Be seeing you!"
There was a flash of purple light, and Sabrina found herself alone in an empty Waffle House, with Schwarz nowhere in sight.
(Sabrina LP 1400) - (Schwarz LP 950)
"Damn it, I was so close..." She sighed, picking her cards up. She wished she could see her Harpies come alive more often, without her life being on the line.
A little alarm went off, notifying her that she had a text message. Who's still alive? It was from Caspian. Sabrina rolled her eyes and texted back an anime reaction image, which she knew would make him angry. She saw that Tyler had replied, which was a huge relief. The only one who hadn't responded yet was Kennedy...
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I'm so glad I managed to get this out before the end of the year! I hope you all liked it!
Join us next time, for Knight's Title!
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Anime/manga original cards-
Hundred Eyes Dragon: *evil looking black dragon with eyes all over its body*
Card Type- Dark Synchro Monster
Monster Type- Dragon
Attribute- DARK
Level- Negative 8
ATK/DEF- 3000/2500
Text- 1 non-Tuner - 1 Dark Tuner monster. This card gains the effect(s) of all DARK monsters in your Graveyard. When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, select 1 card from your Deck and add it to your hand.
First Used: 5Ds anime, "Dark Signs Part 3"
Cards made by me-
Supay: *evil looking mask*
Card Type- Dark Tuner Monster
Monster Type- Fiend
Attribute- EARTH
Level- 1
ATK/DEF- 300/100
Text- When this card is Normal or Special Summon, target 1 other monster you control that has a Level and multiply its Level by -1. This card cannot be used for a Synchro Summon, except for the Synchro Summon of a Dark Synchro Monster. A Dark Synchro Monster summoned using this card cannot be targeted by your opponent's card effects.
(Technically this is a real card, but I modified it slightly because it fits into my lore better this way.)
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Infernity Void Calling: *Infernity Necromancer conjuring a dark portal, with two Infernity Beetles flying out*
Card Type- Spell
Spell/Trap Type- Normal
Text- Take 1 "Infernity" monster from your Deck and either add it to your hand or send it to the GY. If you have no other cards in your hand when you activate this card, you can use this effect twice, also you cannot Special Summon monsters from the GY this turn. You can only activate 1 "Infernity Void Calling" each turn.
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Harpie Lady Garuda Formation: *giant bird of prey made of pure white flames inside a magic circle*
Card Type- Spell
Spell/Trap Type- Quick-Play
Text- When an attack is declared involving a "Harpie Lady Sisters" or "Harpie" Xyz Monster you control and an opponent's monster: Your monster gains ATK equal to the ATK of the opponent's monster, until the end of the Damage Step. You can only activate 1 "Harpie Lady Garuda Formation" per turn.